LaRosa's to donate half of Buddy Card sales through December to Freestore Foodbank

Feed Our Neighbors in Need, a LaRosa’s fundraiser that began on Black Friday, will provide Cincinnati’s Freestore Foodbank and The Foodbank in Dayton with half of all Buddy Card sales through the end of this month.

“LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria is all about family, and we consider our local community our family,” says Michael LaRosa, CEO of the Greater Cincinnati staple that’s been in our communities since its first west side location opened in 1954. “Our restaurants are neighborhood-based, and it is not only our duty but also our passion to support the people of those neighborhoods whenever we can.” 

The restaurant chain contributed $36,000 to the Freestore Foodbank in 2013 alone and aims to increase the amount this year. 

“Hunger is a perennial issue,” LaRosa says. “Nearly 20 percent of the population in Ohio is classified as ‘food insecure,’ but about one-third of those people do not qualify for federal nutrition programs.”

Buddy Cards, which cost $10, enable customers to receive a free large cheese pizza with the purchase of another large pizza and are valid for 14 uses in a calendar year. Most of us know where our next meal will come from, but according to LaRosa some of our neighbors do not and it’s our responsibility to address the issue.

“There are nearly 300,000 adults and children in our community who often have no idea where their next meal is coming from,” LaRosa says. “The holidays are a time to bring awareness to the issue of hunger and engage the local community to be a part of the solution.”

Do Good:

•    Buy a Buddy Card and support those in need through your own gift-giving. 

•    Support the Freestore Foodbank by donating.

•    Volunteer with the Freestore Foodbank.